The CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys have signed a contract with former MLB southpaw pitcher Brandon Waddell to play for them this year, the club said yesterday.
The 28-year-old was a fifth-round choice by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the 2015 draft before making 11 game appearances for four clubs in the major leagues.
He pitched for the Pirates in 2020 and then played for the Minnesota Twins, the Baltimore Orioles and the St Louis Cardinals in 2021.
Photo: AP
Waddell also has experience playing in Asia. He played in South Korea for the Doosan Bears last year, replacing former Korea Baseball Organization Most Valuable Player and former MLB player Ariel Miranda, another lefty, in the middle of the season. Miranda reportedly has issues with his left shoulder.
During Waddell’s stint with the Bears, he made 11 starts out of 11 game appearances, claiming a 5-3 record and an ERA of 3.60.
The Korea JoongAng Daily in July last year reported that Waddell would earn US$200,000 in guaranteed salary for the rest of the season, with up to US$30,000 in incentives also up for grabs by playing for the Bears.
Photo: CNA
Waddell becomes one of two foreign pitchers on the Monkeys’ roster, the other being 33-year-old American right-hander Bradin Hagens, who has been with the club since 2021.
Hagens also has experience playing in the MLB after pitching two games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2014.
Monkeys general manager Pu Wei-ching said that Waddell is likely to be a starting pitcher.
Waddell and Hagens are undergoing procedures to travel to Taiwan, Pu said, adding that he hopes they will report to the club early next month.
The Monkeys finished last year’s CPBL season on top of the five-team full regular-season standings with a 70-4-46 card, but lost the Taiwan Series to defending champions the CTBC Brothers.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
RSS